8 Ways Mass Effect Eerily Predicted The Future

For years, drones were the preserve of the military. They clung to UAVs like a jealous girlfriend in a strip bar. They wanted them all for themselves – so don’t even look at it, ok?

Then something happened in the last couple of years: Advancing technology and decreased production costs meant you could now buy a basic drone in a toy shop - right next to the Lego DeLorean and the Batman action figures. Online shopping retailers want to ship parcels using them; it’s not uncommon to see new footage on TV filmed high above the sky by drones.

Exactly as Mass Effect predicted.

Remember Khalisah al-Jilani? She’s the reporter fan-girling over Shepard over at C-Sec Academy. Only, turns out she’s taken lessons in Lying Journalist Tropes 101 and her devious objective is to prove Shepard is shilling for the human-hating Citadel Council. But what’s that filming her? It certainly ain’t a cameraman (somebody call his union).

Instead, al-Jilani is followed around by a drone with a camera attachment to record her interviews. While rolling news uses footage captured from drones, usually in war zones and disaster areas because both of those make great TV, apparently. It’s just a matter of time before they’re deployed on the ground by roving reporters who need to be quickly deployed.

Once again, Mass Effect looked at existing technology, and saw potential for wide-spread application.